A Night Off
by effulgentgirl
Summary: Takes place after “All the Way” in season 6 but before “OMWF”. Spike wants to give Buffy a night off. Will she let him?
1. Chapter 1

**A Night Off**

by **effulgentgirl**

Disclaimer: Buffy and Angel belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy and a bunch of other people who aren't me.

Thanks: to Sarah and James, for bringing these wonderful characters to life.

Feedback: Please feed me. This is only my second story and I'd like to know how I'm doing.

Description: Takes place after "All the Way" in season 6 but before "OMWF". Spike wants to give Buffy a night off. Will she let him?

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**Chapter One**

The crypt door slammed open with a resounding bang against the wall and before it could swing back around, the figure in the doorway swept through and stayed the motion with her tiny but deadly hand. Knee-high boots stepped forward, revealing a slim and shapely leg through the slit in her skirt.

As she made her way further into the room, the moonlight through the windows highlighted her form, washing her in deep blues and grays, the colors of the night and where she spent most of her time now. Hearing a scraping noise coming from further inside the crypt, she walked around the sarcophagus and peered into the hole carved into the floor. A faint flickering from a torch set in the wall revealed the ladder that would take her down to the level below.

Shifting her weapon to her other hand, she climbed down the first few rungs and then dropped the short distance to the ground. Turning around, she found what she had come for- the vampire. She raised her weapon up as he turned around and fixed his eyes upon her form. A corner of his mouth lifted up as he saw her weapon. Uggh, he could be so annoying sometimes.

"Have axe, will travel," Buffy said as Spike closed the trunk he had been digging around in before she showed up. She noticed he wasn't wearing his usual black on black ensemble but had donned a dark blue wardrobe consisting of jeans and a button-up long sleeved shirt. The short jacket that he had pulled out of the trunk completed the new look.

"What's the matter? Didn't want to get demon blood on your normal, everyday clothes so you decided to let them ruin a perfectly nice set instead?"

He finished pulling on his jacket and walked past her to the ladder. "Never know when I might meet a nice lady friend on patrol, pet."

She rolled her eyes and handed him the axe as she climbed back up the ladder to the crypt above. "I think the only ladies we'll be meeting tonight will be the kind that ends up on the sharp side of my axe."

Spike climbed out of the hole behind her and proceeded to lead her out of the crypt. "Hope you don't mind, but I thought we'd take the Desoto to the Gixlar nest. It's on the other side of town and I don't fancy taking a morning stroll if we don't get the job done in time."

"Sure, but I really hope it doesn't take that long. I have to get Dawn off to school tomorrow and then go meet with my dad's lawyers to work out a fund for us, and then go apply for late admission for school, and finally come home to a busted microwave. Don't know how we're gonna make popcorn." She saw that Spike had stopped walking and was looking at her. "Sorry, didn't mean to dump all that on you."

"No. Don't be sorry. Anytime you want to unwind, I'm here." He touched her arm and gave her a little smile, which she returned.

"And any time you want to physically unwind, I'm here for that too." He smirked at her.

"Pig," she said as she hit him on the arm.

"Oink, oink."

She smiled and got in the car as Spike started the engine and took off.

_to be continued_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"I've never actually fought a Gixlar. Are they really all that bad?"

"If you stay away from the teeth and claws you should be okay," he replied as they drove through the warehouse district. "And save the hatchlings for last. If you go after them while the mothers are still alive, you'll make them even madder and that much harder to kill."

"Check, no baby slayage." She frowned. "I guess that's a good rule anyway."

He smiled and pulled into a side alley where he turned the engine off and sat back. Buffy glanced around and turned back toward Spike to ask him where they were but he was already getting out of the car. She scrambled out and walked around to the back where Spike was putting the axe into the trunk.

"Uh, Spike? Won't we need that? And where are we? I thought the nest was on the other side of town."

Spike closed the trunk and turned back to her. "It is. And since two nights ago, it's been cleaned out."

"Then what are we doing here? Spike, I don't have time to go gallivanting about for car rides when you know I should be patrolling and going home to prepare for my oh so fun day tomorrow."

"I already patrolled. Now, come on. I have something to show you."

He started walking to the other end of the alley as Buffy sighed and quickened her pace to catch up with him.

"You know, last time you said you had something to show me, my boyfriend left me," she said, turning her head towards Spike and matching her step with his. "Since I don't have that pleasure this time, you're either about to show me something dastardly about one of my friends or you've figured out how to get rid of the chip and you're going to kill me," she joked.

Spike stopped suddenly and she turned toward him, frowning when he just looked at her.

"What?"

"Do you really still believe I'd kill you if I got the chip out?" He asked, and she could hear the pain in his voice as well as see it in his eyes.

"No, Spike. I was just kidding. I know you wouldn't hurt me," she said, smiling at him. He gave a quick grin and looked down. "Or my friends," she added. "Except maybe Xander."

He looked up and smirked. "The whelp would deserve it."

She smiled. "If you could take him," she replied as she continued down the alley in the direction he had been walking.

She heard Spike scoff behind her and grinned as he hurried to catch up with her.

"Donut boy wouldn't last a second if I had this chip out," he growled.

She just continued smiling. "Uh-huh. Whatever you say Spike."

He glared at her. "Stop mocking me Slayer or I just might be tempted to take him out, chip or not."

"Doesn't that negate the me trusting you not to kill me or my friends thing?" She asked him, the corner of her mouth lifting up when he just glared at her.

They continued walking down the alley until Buffy heard the soft strains of music drifting through the air. She glanced over at Spike as he continued to lead her in the direction of the melancholy music and the tempting smells of fried and sugary foods. As they exited the alley, Buffy found herself face to face with the yearly Sunnydale carnival.

"You want to show me something evil at the carnival?" She asked skeptically.

"No," he answered slowly. "I want to take you to the carnival."

She just looked at him like he had suddenly sprouted two heads. "You want to take me to the carnival," she said, looking back where they could just see the roller coaster cars topping one of the hills. She turned back towards him. "Like a date?"

"No," he answered quickly. "Not a date. It's just," he glanced down and scuffed the sidewalk with his shoe. "You've been all about work lately, with the slaying and household duties and what not, that I thought you'd like to take a little break. You know, unwind."

He looked back up at her and she worried her lip, trying to decide if she could do this. If she could drop everything for one night and try to have fun and live her life like she was supposed to be doing. And with Spike, no less.

She didn't want him to get the wrong idea and think that if she did go with him, that this would be a regular thing; doing something besides slaying together. She knew he had been there for her for the past month and she was thankful for that; that she had someone she could confide in, and wouldn't have to worry about him judging her or trying to make her show more emotion about being back. He was just there. Always had been, in one weird way or another. And because he hadn't expected anything of her yet, she decided to do it.

"Ok," she breathed, looking back into his softly smiling face.

"Ok," he breathed back.

"Not a date," she blurted out, ducking her head and turning towards the carnival so she wouldn't have to see his smirking face.

_to be continued_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

They walked up to the ticket counter together and Spike purchased their tickets.

"Do I want to know where you got the money?"

"I'll have you know I won this in a perfectly legal game of poker."

"So no cheating?"

"Semi-legal," he rephrased.

"So, what'll be first?" He asked, sweeping his arm around in a circle.

Buffy looked around until her eyes lighted on something in the distance and she tugged on Spike's arm, pulling him along. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes and Spike followed her gaze to see what he was getting himself into.

"Oh, bloody hell no," he said and pulled back on her arm to stop her. "Pick something else."

She pouted and Spike let out a half growl/half sigh as he let himself be led the rest of the way to the ride. Spike handed the ride operator the tickets and followed Buffy to where she was waiting for the ride to start up. She grinned as Spike sat on the pink and blue sparkly carousel horse next to her black and red one.

"You breathe a word of this to anyone and I'll bite you."

Buffy just grinned and made a zipping motion across her lips as the music started and the carousel started going around.

"Hey, my horse doesn't move," she whined and looked over to see Spike with a smug look on his face as his horse moved up and down.

She slid off her horse and looked for another moving one but the only one on their side of the ride was Spike's. He looked down at her and started to slide off but she put a hand on his leg and motioned him to scoot forward. He paused for a second but then slid forward and Buffy climbed up behind him, resting her arms on his where they were laying beside him.

Buffy scooted forward a little more to make herself more comfortable and found herself pressed tightly to Spike's back, her curves molding to his muscular body. Where her arms had automatically wrapped around his waist, his hands had come up and were holding on to hers as the horse continued to move up and down.

She rested her cheek on his back and could feel him breathing in and out. She wondered why he did that; why he kept up the pretense of life when he didn't need to. She supposed he had been doing it since he was turned, because he always seemed so full of life to her, ever since she had first met him in that alley by the Bronze so long ago now.

Buffy noticed they were slowing down and quickly let go of Spike's waist and scooted off the horse. Smoothing down her skirt, she realized she had just spent the last two minutes holding and leaning on Spike as they slowly moved around on the carousel. Way to go Buffy. What a way to make Spike believe he doesn't have a chance with you. Right.

Spike followed beside her as she walked around the brightly lit booths and colorful flags decorating the carnival. Why did she have to go and make things all awkward? They could be having a nice, fun time but instead…

"Hey, funnel cake," Spike exclaimed and proceeded to enter the line and purchase the powdery treat.

Buffy sighed. Trust Spike to lighten up the mood. She wandered over to a nearby picnic table and waved Spike over after he had finished his purchase. They sat in companionable silence eating the cake, Buffy playfully slapping at Spike's hands when he tried to take from her side. When they were done, they continued down the main drag of the carnival, commenting on people's attempts to win the highly prized stuffed animals hanging from the booths.

"You wanna go on another ride now?" Spike asked as they turned the corner taking them away from the game booths.

"Sure. How bout that?" Buffy asked, pointing to the rollercoaster.

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Sure you're tall enough to ride the ride, luv?"

"Ha-ha. Very funny Spike. Come on," she said, grabbing him by the elbow and pushing him toward the ride.

She steered him towards the second to last car and pulled the safety bar down after he had sat down next to her. The cars started moving up the track and Spike leaned back, putting his hands behind his head.

"Do you like rollercoasters?" She asked.

"Dunno. Guess we'll see."

"You mean you've never ridden on one?" She asked in disbelief.

"Nope. I'm a virgin," he smiled, running his tongue behind his teeth.

Buffy just rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air as they flew down the first hill. Spike had quickly pulled his hands from behind his head and was now gripping the safety bar in front of them. Buffy laughed and Spike scowled at her as she took his hands and held them up beside hers.

The car started going through the various turns and they both laughed as they were thrown side to side, banging against each other on every turn. As they topped the last hill, Buffy let out a whoop which caused Spike to start laughing again so that when the cars stopped, they were both laughing uncontrollably. Grasping onto his jacket to hold herself up, they both stumbled down the walkway as Buffy tried to get her laughter under control.

"You should have seen your face when we topped that first hill," she giggled.

"Me? What about when you let out that warrior yell," he said, smiling when Buffy giggled again.

"Oh god. I haven't had that much fun in a long time."

He smiled. "Guess my genius plan is working then."

Buffy smiled and looped her arm through his. "So, what's next? I guess it's only fair you pick since I picked the last two."

He smiled down at her where she was walking beside him; arm in arm and with a giddy smile on her face, but she couldn't help it. She really hadn't had that much fun in a while, way back before Glory had shown up.

"How 'bout we try winning one of those overstuffed sleeping companions for you?" He asked, pointing to one of the booths where people were trying to knock over a tower of bottles with baseballs.

"What about you? Don't you want a sleeping companion?" She asked, a small grin teasing her lips.

He grinned back and tugged on her arm where it was still looped in his. Picking up one of the baseballs while Spike paid the five dollars, she leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"Isn't this kind of cheating since we have superpowers and stuff?"

He grinned and picked up the second baseball. "Guess you'll have to pray extra harder this week."

He stepped back behind the throwing line and aimed the ball at the stack of bottles…and didn't knock a single one down. Buffy tried to smother her laughter with her hand but Spike still scowled at her.

"Are you sure you're not sick?" She asked, putting her hand on his forehead.

He smiled. "Dunno. Maybe you should feel other parts to see if they're hot."

"You wish." Buffy threw the baseball she had been holding and knocked the top three bottles off.

"Show off," he mumbled and picked up the last ball.

"Wait," Buffy said and leaned over and placed a small kiss on his cheek. She drew back and found Spike with a big smile on his face.

"For luck," she whispered.

His smile grew and he leaned back and threw the ball.

_to be continued_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Clutching the little toy dog that Spike had won for her at the game booth, Buffy let out a contended sigh. Of course, he hadn't won it after her good luck kiss. It had taken another five dollars and two balls to knock all the bottles down. There was no way that game wasn't rigged. If a slayer and a vampire couldn't knock down the bottles, then there was something decidedly shady going on. And Spike was still arguing that fact.

"Spike, let it go. You won poochy here so everything's good."

He frowned. "Sorry luv. You're not gonna name it poochy are you? That's a poofy name."

She smiled. "No. I can't decide. I'm either going to name him Rex," she smiled at his frown of disapproval, "or Spike."

He smirked at her.

"Both classic dog names but you know, one has sentimental appeal," she said, looping her arm back through his.

"That right," he said, slowing his pace more so they were strolling rather than walking.

"Uh-huh." She grinned up at him. "Rex was the name of the boy I first kissed."

She started giggling when Spike's step faltered and her turned and scowled at her.

"But maybe I'll go with the other one instead. He's pretty nice too," she said, smiling up at him.

Spike's scowl turned into a small smile. Buffy frowned when he unwound his arm from hers but felt a small flutter in her stomach when he gently took her hand in his and she clasped their hands together. He smiled down at her and started leading her towards another cluster of rides. As they neared the ride Spike was intending to go on, Buffy pulled back abruptly and tugged on his hand.

"No, no, no, no, no," Buffy stated. "I'm not getting on that."

Spike frowned down at her where she was pulling on his hand. "What's wrong luv? It's just the Ferris wheel."

"I know. And I'm not getting on it." She started pulling him in the other direction. "Pick another one."

He stopped, forcing Buffy to stop as well since she was still holding onto his hand.

"Buffy, luv, what's wrong? Why don't you want to go on the Ferris wheel?" He asked softly. He tilted her chin up and saw the worry in her hazel eyes.

"I don't like the Ferris wheel. You go up in this little bucket thing with no kind of safety bar or anything and they rock back and forth and you can just fall right out and sometimes they just stop right at the top and you're stuck there for God knows how long and something could go wrong and you'd be stuck up there forever."

She stopped her frightened rambling and took a deep breath to calm herself. Spike ran a hand through her hair and cupped her cheek.

"How is that you can ride a roller coaster six ways to Sunday but not a little wheel that goes slowly around?"

"That's just it. The roller coaster-it's fast and it's over and you're strapped in. That," she said, pointing to the wheel, "is slow and it gives you time to think exactly how far up you really are." "And how far you can fall," she whispered to herself.

Spike slid his hands down to her arms and gently grasped them.

"Buffy, if you really don't want to go on this, just say the word, and we won't. But if we do, I promise you, I won't let you fall."

She looked up at him and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out as when he clasped her hands again.

"Ok," she said. "I trust you."

His face lit up and he squeezed her hands.

"But no rocking. There can't be any movement of any kind."

He smiled and crossed his heart. "No rocking."

Slowly leading her back over to the Ferris wheel, Spike quickly handed the attendant the tickets and put his hand on her lower back to guide her into the bucket. She sat down and Spike steadied the bucket so it wouldn't rock, even though they were still on the ground. She smiled up at him gratefully and slid over to him when he sat down. She moved a little closer and Spike put his arm around behind her, letting Buffy snuggle into his side comfortably.

The wheel started and Buffy tensed up, her hand gripping his thigh tightly. Spike pulled her closer and leaned down, brushing a soft kiss across her hair. She slowly loosened her grip on his leg as they rose higher and higher in the air while Spike softly stroked her arm. Buffy turned her face towards his and silently gasped when she saw his blue eyes lovingly gazing back at her. Parting her lips, she ran her tongue along them and saw that Spike's attention was now focused on her mouth. She slowly breathed in and leaned forward, her attention being drawn to his mouth when he wet his own lips. He began to lean forward as well and Buffy closed her eyes.

Suddenly the ride jerked to a stop and Buffy screeched and clutched at Spike. He cursed and looked over at the attendant where he was waiting for them to get off. Buffy peered over Spike and saw that the ride was over.

_Wow, _she thought as Spike took her hand and led her off the ride, _I totally forgot where we were. I can't believe I rode the Ferris wheel. I can't believe I almost kissed Spike!_

He was still holding her hand and she realized with a start that she liked holding his hand. She enjoyed spending time with him and that if anyone were to look at them right now, they'd think they were a perfectly happy couple in love. She closed her eyes and thought what her friends would say if they saw them like this. They would completely wig or think they were under a love spell or something. She frowned and opened her eyes.

Well, she didn't care what they thought. They could keep their opinions to themselves. If she wanted to go out and have some actual fun with Spike, then she would. They didn't have any say in the matter. Not after what they had done. She knew she shouldn't blame them when they didn't even know what they had done, but that made it all the worse. She couldn't tell them. The only one who knew her secret was the vampire walking beside her.

"You ok?" He asked, squeezing her hand.

She tilted her face up towards his. "Yeah, I really am."

He smiled down at her and she squeezed his hand back.

"Come on, I think I've had enough fun and frivolity for one night."

"All right, let's get you tucked into bed," he said as they walked back to the car.

_to be continued_


	5. Chapter 5

If you liked the story or not, let me know by leaving me feedback.

**Chapter Five**

The car rolled to a stop at the curb in front of Buffy's house and she sat back in the seat with a smile on her face. Spike had turned on the radio as soon as they got in the car and immediately tuned it to a punk rock station. After several complaints from Buffy, he finally turned it off but continued to inform her of all the glowing attributes of the punk rock band. From there, he got into telling her how he got his look and when she started laughing and teasing him at one particular funny moment, he took his eyes off the road, causing them to bump over the curb when a dog suddenly ran out in front of them. For some reason, Buffy found this extremely funny too and they both spent the next minute trying to get their laughter under control.

She smiled again at the memory and looked over at Spike where he was turning the engine off.

"What're you doing?" She asked.

"Got to have the keys to open the boot," he said, dangling them in front of her. Off her puzzled look, he elaborated. "Trunk. For the axe."

"I know what a boot is. Just forgot the axe was back there."

Spike smiled and got out of the car; Buffy following him around to the back. He popped the trunk and hefted the axe out, handing it to Buffy, who swung it up onto her shoulder.

"So," he said, taking a deep breath.

"So," she said, fiddling with her jacket.

He smiled at her. "Hope you had fun tonight luv."

She nodded at him. "I did. Thanks." She squeezed his arm with her free hand.

"Oh," he suddenly exclaimed, walking back over to the side of the car and leaning through the window to retrieve the toy dog.

"Here. Wouldn't want to forget little Spike."

She took the toy and looked at both of her items. "Axe and Spike. Nothing else I could need."

Spike quickly looked up at her and she cast her eyes down, embarrassed she had said that out loud.

"Um, I guess I should get inside."

"Yeah, got a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Yeah," she said, giving him a quick smile.

"Well," he breathed out and started to turn away.

"Spike," Buffy said and he turned back towards her with a hopeful look on his face.

"Thanks, really, for tonight. You… you made me feel alive again."

He grinned back at her. "Anything for the lady."

She smiled at him. "Um, Dawn and I are sorta having a vid fest tomorrow night. We used to have them all the time but not such much lately. Anyway, um, I was wondering, you know if you didn't have anything better to do, if you wanted to maybe come over and, uh, watch them with us, the movies."

Buffy could tell by the way Spike's eyes lit up that he was extremely happy with the idea of spending the night on the couch with her. And, of course, Dawn.

"Sure luv. If you want me to."

"I do."

"Ok, then. Guess I'll see you tomorrow, 7:00."

"That sounds good. It'll leave time for patrolling," she said, smiling at him again before turning around and making her way up the sidewalk to the house.

Spike bounced on the balls of his feet and turned around to drive back to his crypt. Suddenly, he heard the clank of an axe on the sidewalk and started to turn around to see what had happened, when he found himself with an armful of Buffy and her lips pressed tightly to his.

He froze for a second but quickly surrendered to the heaven that was her warm and inviting lips. Buffy wrapped her arms around him and he gripped her waist as they hungrily devoured each other. After a minute, Buffy broke away with a heady gasp as she tried to get her breathing back to normal. Spike gazed back at her with stormy blue eyes and started to lean down to kiss her again but Buffy stopped him with a finger on his lips.

She placed a soft kiss on his lips before pulling away, smiling at him once again, and turning back towards her house. She stopped once to pick up her discarded axe and toy before making her way up the porch and entering the house. She could feel Spike's eyes on her the entire time and grinned to herself as the last image she saw of him that night was him standing on the curb, gazing fondly at the house where he knew she would be curling up into bed with little Spike.

The End


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